Technical Advisor - HIV Prevention, Care & Support at Catholic Relief Services (CRS)

Catholic Relief Services (CRS) is an International non-governmental organization supporting relief and development work in over 99 countries around the world. CRS programs assist persons on the basis of need, regardless of creed, ethnicity or nationality. CRS works through local church and non-church partners to implement its programs, therefore, strengthening and building the capacity of these partner organizations is fundamental to programs in every country in which CRS operates. CRS re-established presence in Nigeria in 2000 and currently focuses on agriculture, HIV and health extractives and governance, and peace building programming.

CRS is recruiting to fill the position of:

Job Title: Technical Advisor - HIV Prevention, Care & Support

Location: Abuja, Nigeria
Department: Programming
Reports To: Program Technical Director
Band: E-1

Project Background
CRS Nigeria leads the USAID-supported SMILE (Sustainable Mechanisms for Improving Livelihoods and Household Empowerment) consortium consisting of ActionAid Nigeria and Westat designed to scale-up care and support services for orphans and vulnerable children in FCT, Benue, Kogi, Edo, and Nasarawa by strengthening the capacity of government, civil society organizations (CSOs) and communities.

SMILE seeks to improve the wellbeing of 500,000 OVC and 125,000 caregivers and will be implemented through an umbrella grants mechanism (UGM) whereby CSOs receive sub-grants to support capacity strengthening and program implementation at the community level.

The project will also strengthen the Nigerian Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) response by strengthening the organizational systems and technical capacity of the five SMWASDs and targeted Local Government Areas (LGA).The purpose of this position is to coordinate the development and implementation of technical program activities for community based HIV Care and Support in the SMILE Program.

Under the direction of the Program Technical Director, s/he will collaborate closely with the SMILE Senior Program managers to foster an integrated and holistic community based response to HIV/AIDS towards scaling up access to HIV prevention and care services for vulnerable children and their caregivers.

General Function

• The Technical Advisor, HIV Prevention, Care and Support (TA PCS) will be responsible for working closely with the SMILE technical team to achieve the strategic objectives of the program - focusing primarily on HIV prevention, Care & Support but also supporting cross-cutting themes and integration efforts across the project with other areas of OVC programming including Household Economic Strengthening and Nutrition.
• S/he will lead planning and capacity strengthening efforts while putting in place operational strategies for achieving project aims, results and performance expectations through adherence to high standards of programmatic and management quality.

Major Responsibilities

• S/he will provide technical and programmatic leadership primarily in the areas of HIV prevention, Community based HIV Care & Support for project beneficiaries affected by AIDS.
• S/he will be responsible for strengthening the linkages between the community based care activities and health facilities providing HIV care and treatment towards ensuring a continuum of care.
• S/he will also support the strengthening of the capacity of implementing CSOs in the area of HIV prevention awareness creation, community mobilization for HIV counselling and testing, PMTCT and Early Infant Diagnosis (EID), improving referral and counter-referral systems between communities and facilities.
• In addition S/he will support the implementation of evidence-based interventions aimed at addressing HIV risk behaviors, HIV transmission, and gender-based violence with a focus on adolescent girls and young female caregivers.
• The TA PCS will utilize approaches that support integration and maximize country and community-ownership.

Specific Responsibilities
Technical Leadership:

• Provide technical leadership for the development of strategies for the design and implementation of HIV Prevention/ Care & Support activities by SMILE; ensure activities improve access to HIV prevention and care services amongst project beneficiaries and their caregivers.
• Direct CSOs towards overall technical quality - including adherence to technical standards, best practices and donor guidelines - for all HIV Prevention Care & Support activities of the project.
• Ensure project activities are built on strong behavior change principles, and builds the capacity of CSOs and relevant GON staff in effective implementation and monitoring.
• Provide guidance for the liaison with USG and non-USG funded projects and implementing partners providing and or supporting HIV treatment services and fostering effective working relations with these organizations towards achieving the objective of creating an HIV-free generation in 2020.
• Lead GON actors and CSOs in identifying and capitalizing on leverage points for improved linkages and referral coordination at the community level and for integration of HIV Prevention Care & Support elements into other OVC areas project activities and vice versa.
• Keep abreast of research and trends in effective behavior change approaches HIV Prevention Care & Support and engagement of Community Health Workers/Volunteers and ensure project approaches remain in line with Quality Improvement standards, evidence, best-practices and lessons learned.
• Ensure that project activities and approaches used by CSOs are in line with relevant government policies; contribute to the review, development and elaboration of new policies, as appropriate.
• Identify opportunities for learning, formative, special studies and operational research and work with M&E team, SMILE technical team and external support (if needed) to conduct research.
• Develop/identify training modules and tools, and conduct relevant trainings and workshops for CSO staff and GON in line with identified capacity strengthening needs. Coordinate with other USAID Implementing Partners with relevant experience and training resources
• Identify technical support needs, develop scopes of work, identify internal or external candidates, and monitor TDYs/Consultants.
• Identify and build relationships with relevant private sector partners, who can support project activities.
• Document and disseminate project efforts, achievements, lessons learned and innovations within SMILE and to the larger Nigerian and global technical community, as appropriate.

Project Design and Management:

• Contribute to the evaluation criteria for CSO expressions of interest, concept notes and requests for applications.
• Develop the HIV Prevention, Care & Support components of sub-recipient request for CSO applications; ensure opportunities exist for integration with other aspects of the SMILE program.
• Support the development of technically sound CSO proposals that leverage existing materials and ensure an appropriate behavior change communication strategy for priority HIV Prevention Care & Support behaviors using existing change agents.
• Oversee and ensure the successful implementation of HIV Prevention Care & Support activities by CSO sub-grantees.
• Develop standard operating procedures for CSO implementing HIV Prevention Care & Support consistent with the program proposal, Nigerian OVC Service Delivery Standards, other GON and evidence-based/promising approaches.
• Assure appropriate engagement with the formal and community health systems and structures.
• Support the development of functional referral networks for vulnerable groups.
• Use appropriate project management tools to plan, review and track progress on implementation of HIV Prevention Care & Support activities and use of project resources to achieve expected results.
• Contribute to the development/update and monitoring of HIV Prevention Care & Support indicators and tools particularly those required by PEPFAR and the Nigerian OVC M&E Plan.
• Ensure the exchange of lessons learned and experiences and promote coordination between SMILE sub-grantees, other donor grantees and projects in the target States.
• Work with M&E team and other partners to develop appropriate tools for monitoring and evaluation HIV Prevention Care & Support including providing input into the design of the baseline study, periodic annual reviews, and regular monitoring tools.
• Monitor progress toward targets; identify and implement approaches to overcome challenges.
• For HIV Prevention Care & Support, complete on time required work planning, donor narrative reports, quarterly reports and performance indicator tracking tables, baseline and final evaluation reports and other reports needed/required by the local government, donors, the region or headquarters.
• Travel to project targeted zones periodically to monitor program activities and provide support to the SMILE team, CSO staff, and relevant GON entities.

Representation:

• Represent the SMILE consortium in external technical meetings, conferences and workshops related to HIV Prevention Care & Support
• Participate on behalf of SMILE in strategic meetings with USAID and GON.
• Liaise and coordinate with other HIV Prevention Care & Support actors, including the government, the UN system, other NGOs, learning institutions and civil society actors to promote synergy, share lessons learned and avoid duplication.
• Link State, LGA, and CSO staff to relevant HIV Prevention Care & Support technical and coordination forums.

Supervision and Mentoring:

• Support CSOs to develop appropriate job descriptions to ensure staffing is appropriate for expected results.
• Provide regular supportive supervision to the CSO Care and Support staff to ensure achievement of expected results.
• Support CSO staff professional development, including identifying capacity building needs for CSO staff, providing mentoring and training and linking staff to appropriate external opportunities to in line with project needs.
• Ensure relevant GON entities have the knowledge, skills and tools to provide technical oversight to CSO engaged in HIV Prevention Care & Support interventions.
• Support CSOs and related GON entities to use quality improvement science and methodology to enhance the quality of HIV Prevention Care & Support interventions.
• Support the GON planning processes, particularly at the state and local levels, HIV Prevention Care & Support as it relates to vulnerable households.

Key Working Relationships:

• Internal: Chief of Party; Program Technical Director; M&E Director; Grants Manager, Organizational Development Director; other staff of SMILE
• External: SMILE Consortium team members; SMILE CSO partners; USAID, Ministry of Health/Care and Support TWG; UGM and LOPIN counterparts; UN and international community representatives, and other stakeholders.
• Agency-wide Competencies (for all CRS Staff)
• These are rooted in the mission, values, and guiding principles of CRS and used by each staff member to fulfill his or her responsibilities and achieve the desired results.
• Serves With Integrity
• Models Stewardship
• Cultivates Constructive Relationships
• Promotes Learning

Travel:

• Travel up to 50% of the time.

Qualifications and Skills

• MBBS/MD and/or MPH with a minimum of 5 years relevant experience in implementing HIV Prevention, Care and Support programs.
• Or BS/MA in a relevant health degree a plus a minimum of 7 years technical experience with community-level HIV prevention, Care & Support programs.
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively with government and civil society partners and communities as well as transfer knowledge to diverse audiences through workshops, training and meetings using participatory methods and adult learning principles.
• Proven leadership and inter-personal skills for effective team work; as well as the ability to work independently on a frequent basis, taking initiative, managing a variety of activities concurrently, and delivering outputs on schedule.
• Demonstrated ability to support partners working at a distance to achieve results against program objectives/targets.
• Successful experience in project design and proposal development in the HIV/Health sector for USAID/PEPFAR preferred.
• Experience with monitoring and evaluation and reporting nutrition activities.
• Good knowledge of Government of Nigeria HIV Care and Treatment guidelines (Paediatric & Adult)and experience working with Ministry of Health and other relevant entities.
• Familiarity with OVC programming and principles.
• Excellent English oral and written communication skills required.
• Excellent analytic, organizational and computer skills; skilled in MS Office including Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint. Experience with SharePoint a plus.

Disclaimer Clause: This job description is not an exhaustive list, rather it is intended to be indicative of the skills, efforts, duties and responsibilities associated with the position.

Application Closing Date
Monday, 16th March, 2015.

Method of Application
Interested candidates should:
Click Here To Download Application Form

Application form should be sent with their detailed resumes as attached MS word documents to: [email protected] 

Click here to download Full Job Description Here

Note:

• Only applications sent in the required format will be considered.
• Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
• CRS does not accept any form of fees for recruitment.
• CRS is an equal - opportunity employer and does not discriminate an the basis of race, color, region, etc.
• Qualified women are especially encouraged to apply.